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For What It's Worth

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

REVIEW: Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl

Prim and proper Jane Morgan has a perfect life. A great job as the office manager for Jennings Architecture. The perfect boyfriend - Greg Nunn - a lawyer, she belongs to the woman's book club. So why isn't she happy? Because it's all a lie.......a carefully cultivated lie. Will she lose it all after one wild night with Chase, a guy that's all wrong for her.........or is he?

REVIEW:
Jane's story is the third in the Tumble Creek series. She was first introduced as Quinn Jennings tough as nails office manager in Start Me Up. I have to admit that I wasn't all that interested in Jane's story. I thought it was going to be the generic "uptight office girl meets rough and wild guy and learns to let loose". I love this series though so I gave it a chance and I'm glad I did.
Jane meets Chase when he has a meeting with her boss, Quinn Jennings. He is everything she has tried to avoid since she was a teenager - tattooed, rough around the edges, blows things up for a living. Just the type of guy she's attracted to. Chase finds her intriguing and hopes he can take her out to dinner and loosen her up a bit. She gives him the cold shoulder and says no but he leaves her his business card in case she changes her mind.
After a few martinis at a hotel bar Jane is thinking about how she will turn twenty nine soon and she has just broken up with another in a long line of "perfect" but boring boyfriends. Maybe one night on the wild side couldn't hurt. A birthday gift to herself. Then she will go back to being respectable Jane. She calls Chase and propositions him for a one night stand.
Now this is why I love Victoria Dahl's writing! At this point you would be expecting mousy Jane to be seduced and awakened by a night with Chase. You would be wrong. Jane has a bit of wild side and it's Chase's world that's turned upside down.
When Jane's brother Jessie is arrested and suspected of murder, it's Chase who stands by her side. But will he still want her if he finds out about her past?
These are well written characters with strengths and flaws. Jane is not always easy to like while she struggles with her growing feelings for Chase and her desire to keep her past hidden, pretending she's someone she's not even if it hurts everyone who loves her.
Chase.....I LOVED Chase. He looks a little rough around the edges but he's a great guy. He wants more than a fling with Jane. I love how he waits for her but doesn't let her treat him like crap either.
This book was very different in tone than the first two, which had a lot more humor but it was still a great addition to the series.
You don't need to read the first two books in the series to understand this one but I highly recommend it. In fact Start Me Up was on my favorite books of 2009 list.
Loved: Chase! Good character development. Got to see a little bit of Quinn and Lori Love.
Nitpick: I would have liked a little more of the humor from the first books. Jane took a little too long to figure things out. I almost wished Chase went with someone else.

Rating:3 out of 4 Worthy addition to the series - I'm sad to see it end.